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Unlike many critics these days, Howard does not fill his review with vamping recaps of the plot in an attempt to shy away from analysis. No, he’s fearless in this regard, offering up the majority of his review to the gods of criticism, a move which, in today’s world of lazy critics, should earn him a medal.

The review is well structured and the breakdown is clear and easy to understand, methodically moving through the direction, the cast, and the script in equal depth. The points aren’t world changing, to be sure, but they are solid and tightly argued.

Where REVIEW: The Hunger Games fall apart, though, is the writing. This is shaky, uninspiring writing. Howard is obviously a brilliant move mind, but he has trouble translating his concepts to the page in engaging or even comprehensible ways. The syntax is, at times, awkwardly composed, the grammar suffers, and there are some glaringly bizarre instances of bad comma usage.

Unfortunately for Howard, whose review is otherwise grand, these missteps distract mightily and ultimately serve to keep this one in the second or third tier.